Søren Asmussen has fundamental contributions to the many different areas of applied probability, including the theory of heavy tails, rare-event asymptotics and related simulation methods, matrix-geometric modelling, Markov processes, and regeneration. He has authored around 150 research articles and four major books: Branching Processes (co-authored with H. Hering), Applied Probability and Queues; Ruin Probabilities; and Stochastic Simulation: Algorithms and Analysis (co-authored with P. Glynn) which have become classics in their fields due to the clarity and rigor of the exposition. His outstanding research contributions have been recognized through the Marcel F. Neuts Applied Probability Prize (1999), the INFORMS Outstanding Publication Prizes in Simulation in 2002 and 2008, and John von Neumann Theory Prize in 2010.

Søren Asmussen was born on September 29, 1946, obtained his PhD at the University of Copenhagen in 1974, followed by Danish degree of Dr. scient. (equivalent to a Habilitation) in 1982. He held positions as Research Fellow, Assistant Professor,  and Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, before moving to Aalborg University in 1986, first as an Associate Professor and later as a recipient of a prestigious Research Professorship. In 1995, he became Professor of Mathematical Statistics at Lund University in Sweden, and then moved to his current position as Professor of Applied Probability at Aarhus University in Denmark in 2003. Professor Asmussen has been invited as a distinguished visitor to many major research centers of applied probability over the years, including Australian National University, Chalmers University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Stanford University, Technion, University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Rome ("La Sapienza").

Søren Asmussen has also contributed to the area of Applied Probability through major editorial service. He has served as Associate Editor of Bernoulli, Foundations and Trends in Stochastic Systems,  Queueing Systems, and Stochastic Processes and their Applications. He is current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Probability and Advances in Applied Probability, and was Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Applied Probability in 2000-02.